Several diaper types have been proposed with components to reduce leakage of feces and urine from the diaper, to reduce soiling of the genitals or other skin by the feces, or to reduce mixing of urine and feces, to further reduce the risk of irritation of the skin. For example, diapers with a topsheet with an opening, providing a passageway to a void space for collected feces and urine have been proposed; also proposed are diapers with two openings to receive the urine and feces in separate areas; also proposed are diapers with a transversely positioned three-dimensional resilient barrier wall or partition placed in the centre of the diaper, to receive feces and urine respectively on either side of said wall or partition, and to avoid migration of the feces to the front of the article, beyond the separator, or combinations of the above solutions. An example of such a topsheet structure with longitudinal elasticated portions and a transverse portion with a partition is described in for example U.S. Pat. No. 7,918,838; however, such large structures may add significant cost to the product. Furthermore, if the central partition portion is too large, there is a risk that, upon misplacement of the diaper, feces or urine is received on this portion. Simpler transversely positioned partitions are for example described in EP 674499, which describes transverse sheet material attached to the longitudinal cuffs of the article.
The inventors found however that, whilst such transversely positioned separators attached to cuffs may be beneficial from a cost point of view, its success in use (e.g. correct application; performance when the wearer moves) is dependent on its design; and furthermore, such separators are not easily processable into a diaper. In fact, certain features that may be desirable from a performance and product point of view may be very difficult or expensive from a process point of view. The inventors found that such transversely positioned separators are preferably elastic or elasticated. However, applying an elastic or elasticated piece of material, with elasticity in cross-machine direction may create difficulties and adds process complexity.
The inventors have now found improved diapers with an improved and optimized transversely positioned elastically extensible separator that has specific elastic behavior to deliver optimized in-use performance, (both when the wearer moves or is at rest, and both when the wearer's legs are close together or far apart) and that importantly, allows application into the diaper by means of process steps that add little extra complexity or cost, and the invention accordingly also provides processes for making such diapers.